This invention relates to apparatus for supporting a water intake filter in a body of water and at a level between the bottom of the body of water and the surface thereof.
It is common practice to withdraw water from a lake or a stream for irrigation or other purposes. The apparatus usually includes a conduit extending from shore into the body of water. The conduit conventionally is coupled at one end thereof to a pump and at the other end to a filter which is immersed in the water so as to be submerged at all times. The filter conventionally is designed to prevent undesirable debris such as stones, twigs, marine life, and the like from entering the inlet end of the water conduit, but it is possible for sand and other sediment to pass through the filter into the conduit. Particularly is this true in those instances in which the filter occupies a position close to the bottom of the body of water.
The undesirability of entraining sand and other sediment with the water introduced to the conduit has been recognized heretofore. Various kinds of equipment have been proposed in an effort to minimize the entry of sand and the like into the conduit via the filter intake. However, the equipment proposed heretofore has had certain shortcomings, such as awkwardness of installation, an inability to stabilize the inlet filter against undesirable movement due to currents and the like, and, in some instances, inconvenient withdrawal of the conduit in those instances in which removal is desirable for one reason or other.
An object of the invention is to provide a support for an inlet water filter which overcomes the disadvantages of known constructions adapted for similar purposes.
A filter intake support according to one embodiment of the invention has a frame provided at each end with a pair of downwardly diverging legs and connectors extending between the pairs of legs for rigidifying the frame. At the upper ends of the pairs of legs is at least one support for a filter intake that is coupled to a conduit which also may be supported by the frame. The lower ends of the legs may rest upon the bottom of the body of water so that the filter intake is supported at a level above the bottom, but well below the surface of the water, thereby minimizing the intake of sand and other sediment which normally lies at the bottom. The frame is provided with a pair of vertically oriented guides in each of which is a stabilizer post which can be moved vertically in a direction to embed the lower ends of the posts deeply into the bottom, thereby providing a stable placement of the supporting frame which resists movement in response to currents and the like.
The stabilizer posts have enlargements at their upper ends which facilitate vertical movements of the posts relative to the frame. The enlargements also are of such size as to preclude downward movement of the posts a distance sufficient to cause the posts to clear the lower ends of the guides.
Another embodiment of the invention provides a rectangular frame having an upper railed support for a filter intake which is of canister configuration. The supporting frame has downwardly extending legs which may engage the bottom and stabilizing posts of the kind described earlier.